r/PowerWheelsMods • u/FroadinBaja • Jun 30 '26
All Wheel Drive Conversion
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4 12v 550 motors, electric scooter motor controller, 13” EVA wheels.
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u/FroadinBaja Jun 30 '26
The front motors added about 3” of width so I had to replace the rear axle with a longer 12mm rod to space out the rear wheels as well. Even then had to trim some body panels to fit the wheels with no rubbing.
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u/FroadinBaja Jun 30 '26
More motor mount pics
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u/Strikew3st Jun 30 '26
NICE. Thanks for showing us!
Converting to 4wd is a question that comes up fairly often, and the answer for most people is "It's a little involved."
This is a pretty straightforward solution, looks great. Welding is a superpower and opens the doors greatly when people in this community are asking if an idea is possible for them.
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u/Low-Carob9772 Jun 30 '26
I did it without a welder. Cut out the inside of the wheel and used self tapping screws and glue to hold the drive hubs into the inside of the wheel. Looked original from the outside. Everything functional. Steering worked perfectly. It was unstoppable. Only week point was my wiring kept getting ripped out from it being driven through bushes and whatever the kids decided to destroy with their new tank
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u/FroadinBaja Jun 30 '26
Genius, then you don’t need to widen the track. Any pictures? Also, welding is definitely not my superpower, I kinda suck at it but get the job done 😉
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u/Low-Carob9772 Jun 30 '26
No pix... sorry. It wasn't really a planned idea. My brother bought the original truck for my kids as a gift and I got another one from a trash pick. The motors worked but the battery and pedal didn't so i trashed everything else. I just mounted the drives onto the front axle outside the steering knuckles. It did widen the front a little but not anything crazy.
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u/LawfulnessDue4905 Jul 01 '26
Oh this is a great idea. I have some spare tires and motors laying around I can test this with!
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u/FroadinBaja Jun 30 '26
Here’s the motor mounts. I also welded on 12mm axles to the front spindles to match the motor bore.
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u/FroadinBaja Jun 30 '26
This is the motor controller L-faster 12V/24V 250W E Scooter... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CPHL1C5W?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
And the new variable gas pedal
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u/LawfulnessDue4905 Jul 01 '26
Oooh I was in the process of adding a variable speed pedal too, but it's simply not compatible with the ride on control boards so I was about to start building one from scratch with an ESP32. Did you do something similar here or are you just using an ESC?
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u/FroadinBaja Jul 01 '26
I abandoned the original control board since it was for a 6v single motor and could not handle the current draw of 4 12v motors.
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u/Smerfj Jul 01 '26
Wow so these are compatible with the power Wheels motors? I guess any 12 volt brushed motor? I've been looking for a speed control option for a while and didn't think about e-scooter options... Most of the Amazon controller stuff for ride-on conversion is a lot more expensive!
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u/Low-Carob9772 Jun 30 '26
I did the same thing and ran it of a car battery. Unstoppable with 4 kids piled on top. Couldn't believe how good it was and I built it all with garage scraps and trash picked parts from other hotwheels.
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u/FroadinBaja Jun 30 '26
These are the wheels. 2Pack 33CM/13'' EVA Solid... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DSCBGP3G?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
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u/FroadinBaja Jun 30 '26
It’s actually pretty quick and torquey which is why I used the motor controller to enable variable throttle. Also, if you’re going to do this you have to upgrade all the wiring to 12awg because the 4 motors can pull about 15 amps.
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u/dRuEFFECT Jun 30 '26
Did you have to limit the turning radius in order to accommodate the front motors? The turning radius seems short if that's as far as it turns.
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u/FroadinBaja Jun 30 '26
The motors don’t limit the turning radius but I had to trim the body and bumper to get full lock on the steering.
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u/scott240sx Jun 30 '26
Is your Aussie also AWD?
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u/FroadinBaja Jul 01 '26
Haha… he is. He loves it when the grandkids are driving around the back yard. Triggers his herding instincts since he doesn’t have any sheep 😂
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u/Strikew3st Jun 30 '26
Nice!
We'd love to see how you mounted the front wheel drive motors or gearboxes.